Da Vinci robot makes prostate surgery easier
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Curtis Richmond of Lisbon, a construction and steel worker, was diagnosed last year with prostate cancer and had robotic surgery at Backus Hospital.
Curtis Richmond hadn’t had a physical in 10 years when he went to see Jorge Dabdoub, MD, a member of the Backus Medical Staff. It turned out his PSA levels were a little high, so Dr. Dabdoub recommended Mr. Richmond see T. Casey McCullough, DO, a board-certified urologist on the Backus Medical Staff.
“They re-did the test, and my levels were still high, it was at a 5 and they like to see them below 4, so he recommended a biopsy,” Mr. Richmond said. “Unfortunately, because of the results he recommended surgery.”
Six weeks later, he was back on the construc- tion site.
Dr. McCullough said Mr. Richmond was a good candidate for the daVinci robotic prostatectomy, because there was a fairly low volume of cancer, he was young, 47 at the time, and in good health. The da Vinci Robotic Surgical System is used to remove the prostate through five small incisions, so it is less invasive, result- ing in less blood loss and pain, and the recovery time is faster.
Dr. McCullough said the American Urological Association recommends patients start the discussion with their doctors about PSA testing at age 40. Early testing can help establish a baseline for future PSA tests to be
compared to. “With early detection there arebetter survival rates overall, and if you need surgery you will recover better at a younger age,” Dr. McCullough said.
Approximately 16% of American men will be diagnosed with pros- tate cancer sometime in their lives. Treatment options and prognosis depend on the stage of the cancer and the patient’s age and general health. With greater public awareness, early detection is on the rise and mortality rates are declining.
Within six weeks, Mr. Richmond was back to work in construction. “I definitely would recommend it to others,” Mr. Richmond said. He said they discussed other options, such as radiation seeds or hormones for treatment, but decided this would be the best option for him. “It is an amazing thing,” he said of the surgical system.
In the past, Mr. Richmond’s father-in-law had an open procedure, which left a 10-inch scar on his stomach. With the robotic procedure, there are just five small scars. Mr. Richmond also still has erectile and bladder function, which can be affected with any prostate surgery.
Dr. McCullough said if men have existing problems with erectile dysfunction or bladder control, the surgery won’t improve those issues. With the minimally invasive procedure, there is less nerve damage to surrounding tissue.